A Private Pilot License (PPL) is a passport to lot of fun and excitement. It is a license you have to get before you can rent a plane and drive yourself. PPL is the first license anyone need to get to become a pilot to drive for fun. It allows to pilot any small plane (Cessna 152/172) with maximum 4 passengers and with some restrictions:

Weather : it should be fair weather with maximum coverage of 2/8 of clouds

time of the flight : you can fly only during daytime, with daytime defined from 30 minutes before dawn till 30 minutes after sunset

No International flights, no long distance flights over the sea

Only single propeller engine planes

You cannot earn money from piloting the plane

Please note that restrictions and regulations may vary from country to country.

To obtain a Private Pilot License (PPL), you have to complete both the ground school part and the flying practices. With certain agreement between flying schools, the ground school and flying practices can be conducted separately.

In China, you will face two major problems when you try to get a Private Pilot License (PPL): find a flying school that offer this course to civilian and a place that can rent a plane to individuals.

There are some training schools in China that officially release CAAC PPL Licenses. One of them is CAFUC Xinjin Flight College that offers a PPL course for private people wanting to get their fun License. Another PPL school is in Qingdao and offers courses open to everyone. There was a school in Beijing that closed down 3 years ago.

If you want to get your Private Pilot License (PPL) here, you will face three problems:
1) how to get a place in the school;
2) after you get in, how long it takes to finish and;
3) can you stick to the end. The same problem can be found all over China.

There are three reasons for this phenomenon:
1) Airlines have a desperate need of pilots, and they usually fill up all the space available for training;
2) airspace is tightly controlled and most of the time it is very difficult to find the time slots for the actual lessons and;
3) if you want to finish the ground school and go somewhere for the flying practices, you must known none of the foreign flying schools recognize the Chinese ground school part.
Thus to get a Private Pilot License (PPL) in China is practically impossible.

Usually the best solution is to go abroad (e.g. Philippines, US, Australia or Canada) where skies are free from the heavy norms imposed by the China CAAC, and flying a plane can become really fun. Here, you can actually realize your dream. The price is comparable, or even less than China and the time is more certain and fast. Generally, the fee is standardized among all countries. For example, for US, the total amount is 9,000 USD plus travel and lodging expenses.

The ground school has its standardized syllabus and according to the students' personal preference, the course will vary from one to two months. The flying practices part is 40 hours and also vary according to the students. Of course, weather is also very important in this case.

But this training course design is not a good match for Chinese. Since both the ground school part and flying practices are don in other countries, the students spend a lot of time and energy in planning and traveling. For those who has a regular job, such a long vocation is not acceptable. The general practices are to take a few short trips. But in terms of cost, the direct expenses from more tickets, lodging and other expenses and the indirect cost from the lost of job opportunities is also considerable.

In the meantime, students have no knowledge about those flying school and cannot tell good form bad. Their knowledge comes from the price, website and telephone inquiries. And sometimes, it can be dangerous.

We always wonder why some schools are a lot cheaper than others, but the people we sent to test the planes found in some cases the maintenance is poor; instructors are well trained or the overall environment of the school is too bad. The student cannot get the information easily but it is of vital importance. And after all, it is not that we don't have the money. Private Pilot License is just for fun and we shouldn't risk our lives for that.

In answer to the time and safety concerns, Flight Experience proposes a compromising way. To be specific:

For time, Flight Experience will give part of the ground theory in Hong Kong. The convenient location enable student to travel easily; the one-to-one lessons give them the flexibility to plan;

For safety, Flight experience sent its people to test the plane and evaluate the school. We also add some basic knowledge about IFR (Instrument Flight Rules) so even if you find yourself on a cloudy or rainy day, you can still use the knowledge and will not panic. Believe me, when you are several thousand meters above in the sky, you don't want to panic.

We choose Philippines Aviation School and Washington International Flight Academy because:

Both are very good school with well-maintained planes and experienced instructors;

Different locations and time provide more flexibility. Philippines Aviation School is near, the expense is low and travelling is more flexible. The Washington International Flight Academy needs less time and the quality of instructor is better.

To be specific, if you choose Philippines Aviation School, the Private Pilot License training process will be:
If you choose Washington International Flight Academy, the Private Pilot License training process will be:

For the ground school with Flight Experience, we will adjust the hours according to the school requirement, but the topics are standardized all over the world:

Course Cost

Hong Kong Ground Course and Simulator practice :32,000 HKD

To this you need to add the practical part on the propeller plane

Washington flight academy: 65,000 HKD

Philippine flight academy: 58,000 HKD

Living and travel and other expenses

Additional to the course cost you need to add:

Acomodation: Usually the flight school can offer you acomodation and lodging at around 30 USD/day both in US and in the Philippines. Of course it all depends on you, what kind of level of hotel you want to use

Travel: Travel expenses depends on the time and season of your flight and on the airline carrier you decide to use. Usually they will be around 2000 HKD/trip to go to Philippines and 9000 to 13000 to go to US

Other: You will need to pay for your medical exam (usually around 1,000 to 2,000 HKD) and for extra hours if you need them